One person said: The essence of Wuhou Qimen lies not in Qimen, but in Wuhou.

Xu Si frowned slightly.

The phrase he fears most right now is "something's going on".

To him, those three words were almost equivalent to "Your good days are over."

He sat up straight, put his chopsticks down on the table, and said with a hint of annoyance and grievance, "What's going on? Is someone causing trouble? You never give me a moment's peace! I was only out for half a day—half a day! Can't you handle it? You can't even let me have a drink in peace!"

Xu San's voice was cold, carrying a restrained tone that said, "I'm talking to you about serious matters, don't give me any nonsense": "You still have the mood to drink? Didn't you quit drinking? Stop drinking—something's happened."

"What do you know, San'er?"

Xu Si switched the phone to his other ear, picked up his glass of wine and took another sip. His tone carried a hint of roguish self-righteousness. "I'm not drinking today. I'm talking to my good older brother—Dou Le, the head of the East China region—about work. I have to drink this wine, and I have to drink it well."

Dou Le, sitting opposite, heard this and his face was already a little red from drinking, but he still knew to maintain his image.

He raised his glass towards Xu Si, muttering "Brother, keep it low-key," before taking another swig, his attempt at keeping a low profile far from thorough.

Xu Sichong waved his hand at Dou Le, his face displaying a kind of "Brother, don't be modest" magnanimity: "Brother, no need to be low-key—you drink first, I'll make a phone call."

He put the phone back to his ear, his tone more serious than before, but still tinged with impatience, "What happened? Get to the point!"

He deliberately turned the phone's volume up to the maximum and turned on speakerphone so that Dou Le could also hear it.

Xu San on the other end of the phone was silent for a second, then spoke three words in a cold and clear voice.

"Zhang Chulan ran away."

Then, another voice could be faintly heard coming from the phone.

It was a familiar female voice, its tone flat and monotonous, like a broken record repeating the same sentence over and over: "It's all messed up, Zhang Chulan ran away. It's all messed up, Zhang Chulan ran away. It's all messed up, Zhang Chulan ran away..."

That voice sounded a bit depressed.

Needless to say, it's Feng Baobao.

Xu Si didn't react when he heard the name Zhang Chulan, but when he heard Bao'er's voice, his mind seemed to be paused, and then someone slapped him on the back of the head.

Without a second thought, he yelled into the phone, "Zhang Chulan's got guts! How dare he make my baby so upset!"

He slammed his glass on the table, his tone brimming with a brash, gangster-like arrogance and righteous indignation: "Wait a minute, San'er, I'll get someone to break his leg! I'll ask how much—a stupid college student shouldn't have much money! How dare he be so arrogant!"

Dou Le sat opposite him, his chopsticks, which were picking up peanuts, stopped in mid-air.

He put down his glass very gently, but his eyes suddenly changed—the slight tipsiness brought on by alcohol was shattered in a fraction of a second, replaced by an extremely clear-headed alertness.

He stared at Xu Si, his gaze as sharp as a newly sharpened knife.

When Dou Le stared at Xu Si like that, it felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over him from head to toe.

His brain, under the delayed effects of alcohol, slammed into a wall—Zhang Chulan.

Zhang Chulan.

The high-ranking leader specifically mentioned Zhang Chulan by name.

Zhang Chulan, who was the main target for breakthrough.

Zhang Chulan, the key figure in the entire Luo Tian Grand Ceremony operation.

He ran away.

"Holy crap!"

Xu Si sprang up from his chair, shoved his phone to his mouth, and shouted so loudly that customers at the next two tables in the hot pot restaurant turned to look at him. "Xu San, what did you say?! Zhang Chulan! It's Zhang Chulan! He ran away?! Where did he go?!"

Dou Le also became anxious.

He put down his chopsticks, leaned forward, and lowered his voice, but every word betrayed an barely suppressed anxiety: "Zhang Chulan—is he the person that high-ranking leader specifically mentioned? That breakthrough point? Where is he running—could he be running in my Jiangxi province?!"

Xu Si practically yelled into the phone, spitting all over the screen: "Tell me, Xu San! Where did he run off to?! Where did he go?!"

Xu San on the other end of the phone was clearly startled by Xu Si's loud volume and moved the phone away from him. His tone was a little impatient and helpless, but he still maintained his basic composure: "Xu Si, can you not be so loud? Zhang Chulan is running around in Tianjin—where else could he be running around if not in Tianjin? But now there's a problem—Zhang Chulan has been taken to the World Society."

Upon hearing the words "Tianjin" and "Tianxiahui," Dou Le felt as if he had been freed from his restraints.

He let out a long breath, his shoulders slumped, and he leaned back in his chair. He picked up his glass, took a sip to calm himself, and muttered, "Thank goodness, thank goodness—thank goodness it wasn't in my territory."

Xu Si exploded.

"Holy crap! Xu San!"

He braced himself on the table with one hand and gripped his phone tightly with the other, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force. His voice boomed as if it came straight from the depths of his chest, "What the hell did you do?! I've only been gone for half a day—half a day! You mean half a day and you've already sent them away! How can you be so useless?!"

He became more and more agitated as he spoke, spinning around on the spot and slapping the back of the chair behind him loudly: "You always boast that you're more capable than me, saying I mess things up and have an improper work style—well, here you go! I gave you the chance to be a regional manager, and you've already proven yourself useless!"

He took a breath, his voice rising another half octave, each word carrying a sense of collapse as if he were pushed to the edge of a cliff: "If it were two days ago, it would be one thing! He could have had someone kill him and it would have been fine—but not now! Do you know how important Zhang Chulan is right now? Do you know?"

Today! At company headquarters! In the highest-level conference room! The top leader specifically named Zhang Chulan! He said he was the key to breakthrough! All the work going forward revolves around the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony! Now you've lost him—what if the Celestial Master finds out? Will the event still go on? What if the top leader finds out? Do you know how much pressure I'm under? Huh?! Are you trying to kill me?!

He let out a burp, the burp carrying the pungent odor of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor), so strong it made him shake his head. "How strong is this?" he exclaimed, then spoke into the microphone, "Did you hear what I said, Xu San?!"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

Then Xu San's voice rang out, no longer the usual cold and restrained tone, but filled with the indignation of being wronged and splashed with dirty water. His tone was also raised, clearly he was completely enraged by Xu Si's combination of scapegoating: "You blame me?! You left me with so much mess—isn't that your problem! The root cause is you!"